Marshmallow

The Malva family is extensive as are most families but this family has a history of cleaning up "old wounds"

One member of this family is the Marshmallow. I have used Marshmallow to clean up major situations so I call Marshmallow Root one of my "big Guns" as it does what it says it will do.

Dr. John Christopher referred to this plant when he explained how to "cure" gangrene. Actually he was referring to a cousin of Marshmallow called Common Malva and it grows everywhere. As a small plant, it is found growing around outbuildings and in gardens. I find that it invades my front garden and has to be pulled out all the time. Another name for Common Malva is "Cheese its" as the seed pods look like cheese rounds. Dr. Christopher mentioned that Malvas are effective demulcents. (Having mucilaginous properties that are soothing and will remove rough skin, dandruff and dry scabs anywhere on the body.)

Christopher's plan to cure gangrene is to gather a handful of the whole plant of Common Malva and put it into a bucket. Fill this with water as hot as healthy skin can stand. Then put the gangrenous body part into this for 20 minutes. After that period of time transfer the limb to cold water for 10 minutes. Make another batch of the hot Malva tea and put the limb back into this for 20 minutes. Continue this process all day until ready for bed. The next day start all over. He suggested that within a couple of days you will see results. This is obviously not a one-person job.

I was on vacation when my sister called and told me what was happening to our Mother. I suggested a variation of this program as one foot and leg that was black with two ulcerated sores on the foot. After putting Slippery Elm on the ulcerated sores, Betty wrapped Mom's leg and foot with cotton strips and kept the strips wet with a tea made of Marshmallow Root. The sores scabbed over and the leg turned purple with pink strips within four days. Within a week, the scabs were working so the leg and foot turned baby pink. While doing something like this one needs to get the Marshmallow working on the inside as well as the outside. Teas and Capsules are great for this.

This was done not without problems. Mom's caregiver wanted to turn us into the health department for not getting proper care for our Mother. We asked her to give us two weeks and then she would be welcome to do this. What would they have done for Mother? They would have removed her leg to the knee. Can you believe that we are still in the dark ages? My husband's uncle had this same problem and they removed first his toes and then his leg.

Herbs were given to us by GOD. They work wonders if we know how to use them.

I had a call from a lady who had returned from Las Vegas. She had gone to her doctor to find out how to get rid of the diarrhea that she had since her return. After using the doctor's medicine for this for a couple of weeks and still having diarrhea, she called to see what I would suggest. I mentioned that Marshmallow Capsules might be helpful. She then told me that she would get some and try it as soon as the medicine ran out. I am not a doctor and not allowed to prescribe for anyone but I suggested that she start taking the Marshmallow Capsules that night and see if it made a difference. Not to take her medicine for the rest of that day but she could start again tomorrow if necessary. She called the next day and couldn't believe that her diarrhea had stopped after only taking 3 of the capsules of Marshmallow Root. I told her to continue taking the Marshmallow for another few days to clean up any residue problem.

Another cousin in the Malva family is the Hollyhock. Like all members of this family, Hollyhock leaves crushed and soaked can be used as a poultice on bed sores and healing happens more quickly than with the ointments that are presently used to protect these areas. Hollyhock leaves contain the nourishment required for rebuilding the skin.

The root of the Mallow has been used again tuberculosis as it is said to have anti-inflammatory properties and be a mild astringent. Dr. Varro Tyler mentioned that the Kommission E (the German FDA) "has declared them all (the Mallows or Malvas) to be good for things like coughs and bronchitis."

Both Steven Foster and James Duke mention that common Mallow Tea has been used for angina. This doesn't surprise me. Hanna Kroeger use Blue Malva flowers to rebuild heart valves. Her formula was, "1 cup twice daily for 6 weeks to rebuild heart valves." I suggested four drops of this tea for a new born that needed a new heart valve, four times a day. About a week later they called to tell me that they had to stop doing this. The child who had been limp as a dishrag was now so playful that he didn't want to sleep…I suggested cutting it back to four drops twice in the early part of the day. The parents told me that the child never had surgery as the doctors felt that he had out grown the problem. (Aren't these God given things wonderful?)

We had an old cat that was always hungry and never seemed to keep anything down for long. I mixed some Marshmallow root into her food and she didn't seem to be meowing (crying) all the time. Our animals can use herbs just like we do. The dosage is different as we gear to the size of the animal. Cats would only get one-fourth of a human dose. Small Dogs would get a half of a human dose and large dogs could have a full human dosage as would horses.

Two weeks ago a friend called to tell me that she was having a urinary tract infection (UTI) She told me what she was using herbally and that it was working from time to time but it didn't clear up. I told her that I would do some research and get back to her. I checked Dr. James Duke's Database and found that the third product down on the list for this was Marshmallow. They have a certain constituents that "hits" UTIs. I didn't recognize the top two herbs. She said that she would try that. I got an email from her and it is gone. Sometimes these herbs amaze even me as I am always learning. I would not have thought to use Marshmallow for this but it works.

Even the leaves of the Malvas when bruised will take away the pain, redness and swelling of insect stings.

Keep this "big Gun" ready for anything in the health department.